


Domestic Ham

by Fantom_of_the_Fiction



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Beverly and Alana are like older sisters to Abigail, Domestic Fluff, Everyone important is alive, F/F, Fluff, Girl's Night Slumber Party, Hannibal gets his nails painted, Hannibal plays with Will's dogs, I have a biting kink okay, M/M, Murder Family, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Will and Abigail are strangely okay with being cannibals, mentions of bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-13
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2017-12-14 20:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/841093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantom_of_the_Fiction/pseuds/Fantom_of_the_Fiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of domestic one-shots of the Murder Family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Making Lunch

As Hannibal Lecter left the world of sleep and entered the world on consciousness, he instinctively moved closer to the source of warmth nearest him. That source of warmth was his husband of almost one year, Will Graham. He pulled the smaller man to his chest, wrapping his arm around his husband’s waist, nuzzling his face into the crook of Will’s neck, sighing away some of the groggy feeling of sleep. Will shifted slightly, but didn’t wake up. Hannibal had expected that to be the case; he and Will had a few rounds of lovemaking the night before, and he knew that Will would be more exhausted than he from it.

After a few minutes of snuggling with his sleeping husband, Hannibal looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It read twenty-two minutes past seven, and he knew that he would need to get out of bed soon to make Abigail’s lunch; it was a custom he was becoming used to after Alana Bloom had mentioned that her own father had done that when she was a child. The idea hadn’t left Hannibal’s mind, and he decided to try it. Abigail had insisted that she was fine buying lunch at school, but when Hannibal had made her lunches anyway, she took them with her. She told him that his lunches tasted better than the school food after a week of it, and asked him to continue making them, which he was more than happy to do. Will would sometimes write a short note which would usually read ‘Have a nice day’ or ‘I hope you do well on your test today’ or (poorly) draw a picture on a sticky-note and put it in her lunchbag. It had come up in conversation once, Will becoming flustered at the topic, doing his best not to apologize although he severely wanted to, but calming down and becoming rather happy when Abigail had told him that her biological parents hadn’t done that and she enjoyed that Will was doing it; it gave her a separation from her old life and added to the foundation for her new one.

After placing a quick kiss to Will’s neck, Hannibal reluctantly pulled away from Will who subconsciously rolled over onto the warm spot that Hannibal had previously occupied. He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his dark green silk robe and slid his feet into his matching slippers. He stretched his arms and legs out in front of him and stood up slowly, not wanting to become light-headed. Quietly exiting their bedroom, he padded over to Abigail’s room to ensure that she was awake. He stood outside of her room for a few moments, listening for any signs of motion. He heard a rustling of sheets, a yawn, and footsteps. He moved to walk away in case she exited her room, but instead he heard her turn on some music to listen to as she got ready for school. He sighed contentedly and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

He shielded his eyes as he entered the brightly-lit room. He briefly considered closing the curtains, but then he would just have to turn on the lights, so either choice was pointless. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning against the counter. He listened to the quiet music that was playing over speakers he had set up in his kitchen. He had figured that, because he spent so much time in the kitchen, he should add a touch of personality to the room. So, he had installed small wireless speakers in the four corneres of the room and hooked them up to an iPod that he filled with classical music, opera, jazz, and instrumental underscores of his favorite movies. The song that was currently playing was “Vide Cor Meum” by Patrick Cassidy.

Sighing, he shuffled to the cabinet where he kept Abigail’s lunchbag. She had picked it out when Hannibal had begun to make her lunches; she didn’t want lunches in a paper bag. She had taken longer than he had expected to pick it out. She had been looking through the different options available, moving each out of the way and pulling out the ones that caught her eye. She had decided on a neoprene-fabric lunchbag with a black background, white outlined flowers, and a red seem. The tag had read that it was the “Crazy Daisy” design, which made Hannibal chuckle. She had thought that it was juvenile of her to be excited over a lunchbag, especially as a senior in high school, but Hannibal assured her that it was to be expected, and Will had told her that it would aid her with the creation of her new life, which immediately made her satisfied with her feelings toward the subject.

Taking out the lunchbag and unzipping it, he contemplated the various options of lunches that he could make for her. He could make a peanut butter sandwich, but he had done that the previous day. He decided on a ham and cheese sandwich – or, rather, a loin and cheese sandwich. He opened up the refrigerator and took out the container labeled ‘Tenderloin’ and the package of cheese. Placing them on the counter, he opened up the breadbox and took out the whole-wheat Wonderbread. He took two pieces of bread out from their bag and put the bag back in the breadbox. Placing the meat he had cooked to perfection the previous night onto the slices, he thought back to when the two loves of his life learned about his cannibalism.

Will had avoided him for a few months after he learned what Hannibal was. He felt betrayed that Hannibal had led him on for such a long time, had kept so much from him. Will’s absence hurt both men, but eventually he showed up at Hannibal’s office. The men spoke about it for almost four hours; Will had wanted to understand why, and Hannibal was more than willing to explain it to him. After a good portion of a bottle of wine and two and a half beers later, Will decided that he needed a bit more time to think it over. Hannibal agreed, and two weeks later, Hannibal found Will on his doorstep and told him that he had accepted what Hannibal was.

Abigail was much more understanding than Will, considering that her biological father had fed her and her mother human meat for years prior. Of course, she hadn’t liked the fact that Hannibal’s cannibalism didn’t help her situation of trying to build herself a new life, but after he explained to her that he only ate the rude, she accepted it and hadn’t thought twice about it since.

Coming back to the present, Hannibal placed three pieces of cheese on the sandwich, closed the package and container and placed them back in the refrigerator in their respective places. He then opened up the fruit drawer and took out a red apple, closing the refrigerator door with his foot as he took the sticker off of the apple, then washing and drying it. He opened up one of the drawers, looking for the apple cutter. When he couldn’t find it, he searched the other drawers until he found it with the silverware. He took it out, smiling at the fact that Will still couldn’t manage to locate anything in Hannibal’s kitchen, even after he had given Will two tours of the room. He closed the drawer with his hip.

He cut the apple with grace and put the apple cutter into the sink to wash later. Getting into the music, he waltzed into the walk-in food closet and looked around for a snack to put in Abigail’s lunch. She preferred to eat healthy, but she had discovered that she found Cool Ranch Doritos to be a tasty snack when she had spent some time with Alana. Hannibal searched for the bag of chips he knew they had and took it off the shelf when he did and grabbed a baggie as he exited the closet. He took a handful of chips out of the bag, careful to give her an even amount of chips with a lot of seasoning and then not so much seasoning and put them in the baggie, washing the seasoning off of his hand before closing the bag and putting it back in the closet.

He found the green and blue sandwich container in the dishwasher, pleased that Abigail had done the dishes the night before. He put the food items in their respective containers and organized them in her lunchbox, then noticed that he was missing something.

Just then, Will came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist, his chin resting on Hannibal’s shoulder.

“G’mornin’.” Will muttered, his voice heavy with sleep.

“Good morning to you, too, Will.” Sleepy Will was one Hannibal’s favorite versions of Will. “I didn’t expect you to be up this early, especially with the events that occurred last night.” Hannibal told him as he leaned the side of his head against Will’s.

Will gave a low chuckle, “Yeah, well, I couldn’t sleep with the lack of constant warmth and stability next to me. Also I wanted to put a little note in Abby’s lunchbag. She has a big math test today, and I think my notes help her out sometimes.”

“Always the worrying father.” Hannibal smiled.

“Not worrying, just superstitious.” Will corrected as Hannibal turned around and kissed Will gently.

Will sighed contentedly and broke the kiss, “You forgot the celery and blueberries.”

“Hmm?”

“Abby’s lunch. You’re missing the celery and blueberries.”

“Ah, I knew I was missing something. Would you get them out for me?” Hannibal asked as Will pulled away from their embrace.

“Sure. I’ll even wash ‘em for you.” Will winked at his cannibalistic husband as he opened the refrigerator door.

“You’re too kind, William.” Hannibal chuckled as he smacked Will’s behind and took out the containers he would use for the celery and blueberries.

As Hannibal put the freshly washed food into their respective containers and into the lunchbox, he took a napkin from its holder just to his left and placed it in the bag. Will put a yellow sticky-note in the lunchbag that read ‘Good luck on your math test’ and had a smiley face with a curl of hair and a tongue sticking out. The two men smiled at each other and Hannibal zipped up the lunchbag.

“What should we have for breakfast? Should we make pancakes or just have cereal?” Will asked, just as Abigail entered the kitchen.

“I think we should have pancakes.” Abigail suggested.

“Good morning, Abby. Did you sleep well?” Hannibal asked, seeing how she would react to the nickname. Will was more comfortable calling her Abby, and Hannibal had decided to try it out.

“Really well, actually.” She smiled at his use of her nickname, “You know what would make my morning even better?”

“Pancakes?”

“You know me too well.”

Hannibal agreed and the family made pancakes with ‘bacon’ for breakfast. He taught Abigail how to flip pancakes, which she picked up on quickly and easily, and she even attempted to teach Will how to do it. Will didn’t learn it so easily, but he managed to flip one over, earning a round of cheers from the small family.

As eight-thirty rolled around, Abigail announced that she had to leave for school, as the bus picked her up at eight thirty-four. She grabbed her backpack and lunchbox and slid her shoes on.

“Bye dad,” she said as she hugged Will, “Bye daddy.” She said, hugging Hannibal.

“Bye, Abby. See you later.” Will said as she hugged him.

“Have a nice day at school, Abby.” Hannibal told her as she hugged him and ran out the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated.


	2. Preparing for the BBQ

“Will, would you accompany me to the grocery store?” Hannibal asked, glancing up from his laptop. “I need to get some ingredients for tonight’s supper.”

“Yeah, I could go for that. What are you making?”

“A chipotle-marinated flank steak and garlic pull-apart bread. I have yet to make it for the first time; the directions are available on the iCookbook application on my laptop, and I’m curious to try it out. The flank is a grilled meal, should we invite some people from work over? We could have a barbecue tonight, and Abigail could bring a friend over if she’d like.”

“That sounds like a great idea. When… When should we go?” Will asked, closing his copy of The Great Gatsby. He had read it in high school like everyone else, but forgot nearly all of it. He wasn’t really paying attention to what was happening in it though, getting distracted every few moments by the attractive man sitting across from him.

“It says that the meat has to be marinated for six hours and there is a thirty minute prep and cook time, and if it’s ten o’clock now and we start cooking it at noon, we should leave within the hour to buy the ingredients.”

Will blinked. “Jeez. I don’t think I’ll ever understand cooking, but if it says so, then let’s get going.” Will said as he put the book on the table next to the armchair he was comfortably seated in and stood up, stretching.

“I’m going to look through the kitchen and see what ingredients we will need that we don’t currently have and I’ll put them on the list. Is there anything you would like that we should get while we’re out?”

Will thought for a moment. “We need more dog treats and we’re almost out of dry food for the dogs.” When Will moved in with him, Hannibal had agreed to have all of Will’s dogs live with them, and they had spent a month building each dog its own dog house in the backyard. Will was uneasy about it at first, saying that he preferred the dogs sleep with them in their bedroom, but soon realized that it wouldn’t be a good idea seeing as they would be keeping the dogs awake for most of the night anyway, either with their rounds of sex or Will’s nightmares. After a couple of weeks, the dogs became comfortable sleeping outside in their doghouses, and when it rained, Hannibal allowed the dogs to stay inside until the rain cleared up. He wasn’t against the dogs being in the house all the time, but he also didn’t want the furniture to become covered in dog hair or ripped up, and he wasn’t fond of the scent of dog urine. They were well-behaved dogs that didn’t bark for the most part, and Hannibal found them to be good company when he was home alone.

Hannibal chuckled, “Is there anything that _you_ want from the store?”

“Oh, ah, well.” Will blushed. “We… We need more celery for Abby and I’d like more Cheerios. Also I think we’re out of eggs. Also, could we get some… non-human bacon? Turkey bacon, to be more specific.”

Hannibal smirked, “Of course, Will. I’m not opposed to eating animal meat.”

Will nodded and reciprocated his husband’s smirk, and went upstairs to change out of his pajamas and into real clothing. Hannibal wrote down what Will had said they needed to buy and added his own items to the list. He walked around the kitchen and noted that he needed to buy limes, chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, garlic cloves, and dry yeast. He checked the closet and cabinets for paper plates and utensils their guests could use, pursing his lips when he saw that he had none.  He jotted down different drinks to have at the barbecue and went upstairs to get changed as well.

When they were both ready to go, they got into Hannibal’s car and drove to the grocery store.

“What’s adobo sauce?” Will asked looking at the shopping list as Hannibal pushed a shopping cart up next to him.

“It’s a type of hot sauce or marinade in Mexican and Southwestern cuisines. Adobo is a Spanish word for "sauce" or "marinade" and the dark red adobo sauce is used in many contexts in Mexican food.”

“Ah, so we’re having Mexican tonight.”

Hannibal chuckled, thinking about the human that the choice of meat he would be cooking tonight came from. “Yes, we are.”

Will thought about that for a moment before elbowing Hannibal in the side and joining him in laughter, “You are _horrible_.”

“Careful, or I might add you to my ‘Rude List.’” Hannibal winked at him.

Will considered making an ‘eating him’ joke of his own to that, but decided to drop it, instead asking, “So what’s on the list? Should we split up so we can be finished sooner?”

“I think that would be best.” Hannibal took the shopping list and carefully ripped it in half, giving Will the half with their food items and keeping the half with the ingredients. “You get the things we need, and I will get the ingredients.”

“That works.” Will took the half-list and grabbed a shopping basket from the entrance as Hannibal walked toward the Mexican food aisle. “Let’s see, which way are the vegetables?”

**oOo**

“I found everything on my list.” Will said as he found Hannibal in the paper products aisle.

“Hmm.”

Putting the items in the shopping basket, “Looking for anything in particular?”

“Plates and utensils.”

“You don’t have paper plates or plastic forks and knives at home?”

“Unfortunately not. I have yet to host my first outdoor dinner party. I have never found paper plates and plastic utensils to be…”

“Classy?”

Hannibal smirked, “Yes, I suppose ‘classy’ would work in this situation.”

“I should have expected that from you.” a smile graced Will’s lips, “Always classy, never trashy.”

**oOo**

“I bought you something.” Hannibal said to Will as they put the newly bought food into their respective places in the kitchen.

“Oh, what is it?” Will wrung his hands. He was still nervous about receiving gifts, even after all this time.

Hannibal pulled it out of one of the shopping bags and handed it to him. “It’s a cooking apron.”

Will gave his husband a genuine smile. “Thanks. But… Does this mean you’re expecting me to help you… cook?” he asked skeptically.

“If you wish. I don’t expect you to flambé anything anytime soon, but I would enjoy your company in the kitchen with me, and not to have you be in there simply eating scraps while watching me cook.”

“Ah, uh, I suppose I could cut stuff and put things in the oven. I’m really not that skilled with cooking…” he smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. He had fished and made meals for himself when he lived alone, but he was never very good at it. Because he hadn’t needed to cook after he moved in with Hannibal, all of his skills and knowledge on cooking had left him.

“Not to worry, Will. I’ll teach you. Soon, you may be as good as Abigail.”

“Yeah, I doubt it. It’s sorta sad that my own…” Will was still not comfortable with referring to Abigail as his daughter, even though he had no problem referring to himself as her father, “Someone younger than me is better at stuff like this. I lived on my own for a while so I know the basics, but I can’t do anything fancy.” He admitted.

“That’s because you haven’t _tried_. The only reason Abigail knows how to do things like that is because I’ve taught her, and she picks up on things quickly. It’s not a bad thing that you don’t know how to do things that she can, it’s simply the way things are right now.”

“I see what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean I like it. But anyway, who should we invite tonight?” Will asked, trying to change the subject. Hannibal sighed and allowed it.

“I was thinking Alana, Jack and Bella, and Beverly. And one or two of Abigail’s friends, if she’d like.”

Will took an inward sigh of relief, thankful that it was people he was at least relatively comfortable being around, although Jack still freaked him out. “Could we invite Georgia, too?”

Hannibal shifted slightly. “Of course. Shall you call them up, or shall I?” he asked, although he already knew the answer.

“Er… I really don’t-”

“Not a problem, I’ll do it. I know how you feel about things like that.”

“Why did you ask me to do it, then?” Will laughed awkwardly.

He thought for a moment. “I was curious to see what you would do. No matter, would you please get out a medium sized bowl, a food-safe plastic bag, and a cutting board while I call up our friends?”

Will nodded. “I’ll text Abby, too.”

 Hannibal went into the living room to call their guests, and Will pulled out his phone to text Abigail, leaning on the countertop.

At school, Abigail pulled out her phone to see a text from Will waiting to be answered. She read it, and immediately turned to her friends she was eating lunch with. “Hey guys, my dads are having a barbecue tonight. Interested in coming?”

Abigail had missed a substantial amount school the year before and decided to complete her senior year. She would be a year behind, but she, Hannibal, and Will agreed that it would be beneficial for her to go back. She had been wary of making friends when she came to her new school, and was thankful that no one had approached her right away or knew about her past. If anyone did, they didn’t mention it to her. When she was paired up for a project with two other girls, she felt like it was time for her to start making friends again. In a matter of weeks, the three girls had become close friends. Nithya was an Indian girl with medium-length black hair, and her other friend, Chloe, was a Scottish girl with long, curly hair.

“Where’s it gonna be at?” Nithya asked.

“My house, I’m guessing.”

“I’ll have to ask my mom, but sure, it sounds like fun. I’d like to meet your dads.” Chloe told her.

“Same here. What’s your address?” Nithya asked, pulling out her phone, and Abigail told them the address.

“What time should we come over?” asked Chloe as she stuffed some chips into her mouth.

“I’ll ask my dad.  Hold on.” Abigail thought it would be easier just to call Will instead of waiting for him to text her back. She dialed his number and listened to the phone ring twice.

“Hey, Abby. What’s... What’s up?” Will’s voice asked awkwardly over the phone. She felt bad for calling him; she knew how much he hated phone conversations.

“I got your text. My friends Nithya and Chloe said they could probably go. What time should they come over?”

There was a moment of silence before Will answered. “Uh, five-thirty or six.”

“Five-thirty, six o’clockish.” She told the girls. “It’ll be at home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, thanks, dad.”

“No problem.”

Abigail hung up and said that yes, it would be at her house.

Will put his phone back in his pocket as Hannibal reentered the kitchen. Will quietly told him that Abigail was bringing two friends, and Hannibal nodded, still on the phone with someone. He moved the phone away from his mouth and told him, “Beverly would like to know if Brian Zeller and Jimmy Price can come along. They’re staying in her home until theirs is finished being renovated.”

“Oh, uh, I…” He liked Beverly well enough to consider her a close acquaintance, and it would be impolite to invite her and not her house guests and co-workers. “Sure, I uh, I guess.”

“Yes, they’re more than welcome to come, Beverly.” a pause. “Oh, by all means, yes. That would be lovely. Thank you.” Another pause. “See you then.” Hannibal ended the call and turned to Will, joining him in leaning on the counter.

“What’s lovely?” Will asked.

“Other than you?” he winked and Will rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushing pink. “Beverly said she will bring deviled eggs. And Bella has offered to bring fruit cobbler for dessert.”

“I guess this is turning into a full-out barbeque, then.”

“So it seems. Will you help me marinate the meat?” Hannibal asked as he went to the refrigerator. “Since we’ll be cooking for eleven people tonight, and the recipe serves only four, we’ll need to make three flank steaks, and do everything three times.”

“Sure… I guess I should start getting used to… cooking _people_.”

“Just imagine that the meat is animal. It will help.” He assured him.

Will took the cardboard paper label off of his new apron and slipped it on, reading what it said on the front. He gave Hannibal a look. “Kiss the cook? Really?”

“I thought it would help to remind me to kiss you more often.” He gave a charming smile.

“You don’t need an apron to remind you, you do it enough already.”

Hannibal leaned in and gave Will a quick kiss. “Would you rather it be a full-torso of a muscular man in a speedo?” Hannibal joked.

“No, no. This is fine.” He said quickly, tying it in the back.

Hannibal turned his attention to cooking. “Ah, perfect. I have four flanks; that will be more than enough.” Will grimaced, not wanting to think about how they were acquired. Hannibal took three of the flanks out of the refrigerator and placed them on the countertop. “Would you find me the limes, lime juice, chipotle chilies, and garlic, please?” Hannibal was getting into his cooking mode.

Will searched the refrigerator for a lime, the bottle of lime juice, and the chilies. He set them on the countertop and went to the closet for the garlic. “How much garlic?”

“Two cloves.” Hannibal gathered the cilantro and brown sugar and took out a grater, measuring spoons, and knife set. “We also need two measuring cups. They’re in the third drawer to the left.”

Will opened the drawer. “Jeez, how many measuring cups does one man _need_?” he asked sarcastically, noting that Hannibal had four, each a different size.

“I need them for the dry and wet ingredients. It’s not sanitary to use one measuring cup for everything, and mixing the dry with the wet causes the dry to stick to the inside of the cup.” He informed him just as he took out a second cutting board. Will nodded and took one out and placed it on the counter next to the other ingredients.

“What’s first?”

“We make the marinade. We’ll need one-third cup of lime juice, would you do that?”

Will nodded again and poured the lime juice into a measuring cup. “Should I put it in the bowl?”

“Yes. Good. Now, we need a quarter cup of chopped fresh cilantro. I’ll do that, and you can add in a tablespoon of brown sugar.”

Hannibal began to mince the cilantro, mesmerizing Will for a moment with his quick and efficient movements. Shaking himself out of his daze, he opened the pack of brown sugar and measured one tablespoon and dropped the correct amount into the bowl. Hannibal grabbed a measuring cup and tossed the minced ingredient into it, making sure he had enough and when he did, he dumped the contents into the bowl. “Good. Now the adobo sauce and chilies.” He took the can out of the refrigerator and used a can opener to open the lid. Discarding the lid in the trash can, he took one chili out and looked to Will. “I want you to cut it.”

“What, me?” Will asked, hesitant.

“Seeing as you are the only other _living_ human in the room besides myself, yes. Come here.” Hannibal motioned for Will to stand with him.

Will walked to the space cautiously. “Are you sure you want _me_ to?”

“Yes, Will, I’m sure. But don’t worry, I’ll be right here with you. Here, use this knife.” He instructed, handing Will a medium-sized knife.

“I-I don’t think-”

“It’ll be alright. I’ll help you.” Standing behind him, pressed against his back, Hannibal adjusted Will’s hand on the knife handle and put his own on top of his husband’s. “Hold it firmly. Slow and steady movements, but make sure to use enough pressure.” He said his voice a low rumble in Will’s ear. “We need to cut off the stem first.” Hannibal lifted Will’s hand and moved it to the chili that was resting on the cutting board. “Hold the chili so it doesn’t move.” Will did so, Hannibal’s free hand resting on his. “Good. Now, cut.” He guided Will’s hand so the knife was positioned correctly on the chili and they began cutting it, moving their fingers away from the knife as needed. “Stack a few of the pieces on top of each other, just like that. Now cut them.” The men cut the stack and made two more and cut those, too. “Very good. Now we cut those pieces, like so.”

When the chili was properly minced, Hannibal had Will confirm that it was one teaspoon, and Will put it into the marinade mix.

“I want you to do the second one.” He told Will. Will was still hesitant, but managed to complete it on his own in about three minutes.

Hannibal taught Will how to mince garlic and had him mince the two cloves needed. He used the measuring spoons to measure two tablespoons of adobo sauce from the can of chilies. Using a wooden spoon, he mixed the marinade a bit before making the last ingredient.

“And last, we need one teaspoon of freshly grated lime peel. Do you think you can handle that?” Hannibal asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ll give it a go.” Will peeled the sticker off of the lime and stuck it onto Hannibal’s apron – partly because he wanted to be flirty, and partly because he still didn’t know where the trashcan was located in the kitchen – and washed off the lime.

“You know how to grate, yes?”

“Yeah… Relatively.” He brought the lime up to the grater and began grating. On the third grate, he winced. “Agh. I think… Yeah, I cut myself. Dammit.” He said as he brought his finger up to inspect it.

Hannibal moved around the counter to inspect it also, tsking. He took Will’s hand in his and looked closely at the small cut on his husband’s finger. Slowly, he brought the finger to his lips and took it in his mouth, gently sucking on the wounded area, his tongue lightly grazing it and licking away the blood. Will stood there, unknowing of what to do, and unable to take his eyes off of Hannibal’s, his cheeks flushing red again. Hannibal released Will’s now slightly swollen finger and lowered his hand to his side, and closing the space between them, pressing Will up against the edge of the counter. Did Will just hear his husband _growl_? Will put his hands down next to him on the counter to hold himself up, Hannibal’s hands slipping in between Will’s hips and arms onto the edge of the counter.

Will was about to ask what Hannibal was doing, but decided against it; he had a pretty good idea of what the Lithuanian man was doing. And he got the hint. Gaining a rare sense of confidence, Will leaned up and pressed his lips to Hannibal’s, who eagerly returned it. He could taste the slight iron flavor of his blood on Hannibal’s lips as he ran his tongue across them.

Hannibal pulled away all too soon, much to Will’s displeasure. He turned back to the task at hand and scraped the grated lime into the bowl.

“Ah, should-shouldn’t we, you know, put some _new_ grated lime in?” Will asked, his head a bit fuzzy.

“It’s all the same, in the end.” Hannibal smiled deviously at Will, who grimaced at the truth in the statement.

Hannibal mixed the marinade in the bowl, covered the flank in it, and put it in the refrigerator. After Will found himself a bandaid to put on his wound, the men repeated the marinade process two more times, Will being more careful while grating the lime the following times.

“Now what?” Will asked as he washed the spicy ingredients off of his hands.

“Now, we wait. I suppose we should get out the napkins and plates we will be using tonight, so let’s prepare for our guests.” With that, the men got to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated.


	3. The BBQ

“Abby, could you get that?” Will called from the kitchen as the doorbell rang.

“On it!”

Will heard the front door open, followed by a few polite “Hellos.”

“Beverly and the sassy husbands are here.” Abigail announced as she led them into the living room.

“Abigail, don’t be rude. You know what happens to the rude.” Hannibal chided. Abigail rolled her eyes and went back upstairs into her bedroom as he entered the living room. “Hello Beverly, Jimmy, Brian. How are you this evening?”

“As well as we can be. Beverly’s deviled eggs were stinking up the car.” Brian said, earning him a smack on the arm from said woman.

“It was not, and you know it.” Before either men could make a comment to that, she turned her attention to Hannibal. “Is anyone else here yet, or are we the first ones?”

“Jack and Bella arrived not too long ago. They’re outside. Shall we join them?” Hannibal motioned for them to follow him and he led them outside.

**oOo**

The doorbell rang again and Abigail, smiling, opened the door to find Chloe and Nithya standing on the front porch. “Hey, Chloe. Hey, Nithya. I’m glad you guys could make it.”

“Thanks for having us. My mom made me bring her stupid potato salad. Does anyone even eat potato salad?” Chloe asked with a mixture of sarcasm and seriousness.

“Maybe the adults will, who knows. Come on in, anyway. You can take off your shoes if you’d like; we’re going to be eating outside and the ground isn’t wet.”

The girls stepped inside the house, looking around at the elaborate design of the interior and slid off their shoes.

“Damn. I don’t know what I expected, but it sure wasn’t this.” Nithya admitted.

“Want a quick tour? My dads want to meet you. We’re all outside in the back. Oh and by the way, we have six dogs. Are either of you allergic?”

“Nope, not allergic. But a tour would be great. Do you have fancy soap in your bathroom that I can steal?” Nithya asked, earning her a jab in the ribs from Abigail.

“Six dogs? Shit, man. Does your family collect them or something?” Chloe asked.

“Ah… Something like that. My dad will take home any stray that he finds. He says they’re lonely and scared, and that he can relate to it from his past.”

“That’s… positive and reassuring. But that’s too bad for him.” Nithya said sympathetically.

“Yeah, my dad’s really helped him out with that. But anyway, let me give you a quick tour.”

Abigail led them through the living room, showed them where the powder room was, (“You _do_ have fancy soaps!”), the dining room, and finally brought them into the kitchen where Hannibal was.

“Hey, daddy. These are my friends, Nithya and Chloe.”

Hannibal greeted them with a friendly smile and wiped his hands off with a hand towel. “Pleased to meet you, girls. I am Mr. Lecter.” He extended his arm, shaking hands with the girls.

“Thank you for having us over, Mr. Lecter. You have a very interesting taste in interior design. I love the warm colors; it’s very cozy. I also like your use of the antlers. I noticed that most of the antlers aren’t attached to the head of an animal. Any reason why?” Nithya asked as she shook his hand.

“Thank you, Nithya. It took me quite a while to do the whole house, but I had it completed in about two years. It was truly a feat. As for the antlers, I find that they hold the beauty in the creatures they belong to. I also find it unnerving to have a stag head watching me when I’m drinking my morning coffee.” He joked.

“I have to agree with you on that. It would give me the creeps.”

“Yeah, me too.” Chloe agreed. “Oh, my mom made me bri… Made some potato salad. She puts some spices in it that I can’t even begin to pronounce, but I hope you like it.” She gave him a charming smile and handed him the container.

“I’m sure it will be delicious, thank you for bringing it. Please tell your mother that we are very grateful for it.”

“Oh, I will.”

“Let’s go outside. I have some more people I want you guys to meet.”Abigail led her friends outside and was immediately greeted by the six dogs. “They won’t bite, they’ll just jump and lick you.”

Nithya and Chloe kneeled down to the dogs’ levels, patting their heads and letting them smell their hands.

“What are their names?” Nithya asked.

“The brown fluffy one is Winston. He’s the newest one in our little pack. This little white one is Millie, the border collie is Maximillion, Max for short. The one that looks like a big Jack Russell is Hugh, the fluffy golden one is Casper, this big brown one,” she kneeled down to their levels and rubbed the dog’s back, “She’s Alice. And this little guy is Buster.”

“They’re just precious, Abby. They must eat a lot.” Chloe noted.

“No shit, Sherlock.” Nithya rolled her eyes.

“I’m just saying! God. Did you forget to drink your prune juice this morning or something?” Chloe responded.

“What does that even _mean_?”

Chloe paused for a minute, a smile crossing her face. “I have no idea, actually. Some kid named Chet said that about my PE teacher in middle school.” She laughed at that, Nithya giving her a look.

“Oh, uh, sorry, girls. Are the dogs bothering you?” Came Will’s nervous voice as he made his way over to them.

“Oh, not at all. They’re just looking for some loving.” Chloe said, giving Alice's back a good pat.

“Dad, this is Nithya, and this is Chloe.” Abigail introduced.

“Nice to meet you.” Will gave an awkward nod of the head to them, seeing as his hands were full with trays and containers of food. “You can… You can just call me Will.” _Using last names is too formal_ , he thought.

“Would you like some help with the food?” Nithya offered.

“No, I got it. Um, thanks though. Nice meeting you.” Will walked off to set the food out on a long table.

“He’s not very social, is he?” Nithya noted.

“Not really. He’s pretty antisocial, and he’s still… healing from something that happened a few years ago.” Abigail told them.

Not wanting to pry, for once, Nithya remained silent. Chloe, on the other hand, was distracted by Hannibal, who had just walked past them and she was admiring the view. He walked right past Will, who was obviously struggling with setting all of the food and containers down onto the table. Just as she was thinking that someone should help him, a woman with long black hair and a professional air walked in through the back gate and hurried to help him, preventing a platter full of vegetables from falling to the ground.

“Thanks, Alana.” Will said as she took the platter.

“No problem, Will.” They placed the different dishes in eating order; dinner foods on one end, desserts on the other end of the table. “Thanks for inviting me. I could really use some out-of-the-house time.”

“Yeah, of course. I know how you feel. How, uh, how did you get back here, anyway?”

“No one answered when I rang the bell, so I figured you would all be out back. Looks like I got here just in time, too.”

“Who’s that chick over there with your dad, Abby?” Nithya asked, looking at Alana and Will.

“Oh, that’s Doctor Alana Bloom. She helped me out when I was going through that thing with my parents. The biological ones. She also helped my dad when he was going through some rough times. She works with my dad and the people sitting at the table over there.” Abigail informed them, pointing to Jack, Bella, Beverly, and Jimmy and Brian. “They all work together. She’s dating Beverly, the one sitting with the two guys. My dads don’t really get out too much. But they’re happy with it, so I don’t really think about it. Come on, I’ll introduce you to her.”

**oOo**

“When will the… _Meat_ be ready?” Will asked.

“It’s nearly done, no worries. I would say about five more minutes.” Hannibal responded.

Will glanced around to make sure no one was within ear shot before asking, “Isn’t it supposed to… You know… Smell bad?”

Hannibal smiled and gave Will a look. “It’s the flesh that smells, Will. Not the meat.” He nudged him with his elbow. “You should know that, considering your line of work.”

“My line of work has nothing to do with that. I work with bodies _after_ the fact, not while it’s happening. Anyway, I’m going to check on the garlic bread. I hope it didn’t burn. But with my luck, it’ll be burnt worse than that one lady in that show Abigail likes to watch sometimes.”

“Oh? What happened to her?” Hannibal inquired.

“She burned on the ceiling, I think. Don’t ask me how or why.” He added when Hannibal gave him a questioning look. “I don’t understand those shows she watches. I’m going to get the garlic bread.”

Surprisingly, the garlic bread hadn’t burned to a crisp. Proud of his work, Will was about to take it outside, but stopped when he heard a knock at the door. Setting down the bread, he made his way to the front door, and his smile grew and his shoulders relaxed.

“Hey, Georgia.”

“Hi, Will. I’m so sorry for being late. I took a nap and I overslept.”

“Not a problem, George.” Georgia was the one person outside of his family that he was comfortable using a nickname for. “Come on in. You got here just in time. I actually just took out the garlic bread that I made.”

“That you made? All by yourself?”

“Is it really that surprising?” Will asked, becoming self-conscious of his cooking skills.

“A little bit, yeah. But I’m sure it’ll taste great. I can smell it from here. Oh, I made some rocky road brownies. My mom and I made them all the time when I still lived at home.”

“You seem pretty confident about it.”

Georgia gave a smug smile. “Well, I like to think that I’ve perfected it over the years.”

“I’m sure you have. Come on out back. The food should be done by now.”

She followed him into the kitchen, helped him put the garlic bread onto a plate, and the two went to the backyard to join the group. Georgia was greeted by the other guests, Abigail introduced her to her friends, and the small talk began.

“Is that a Scottish accent I hear, Chloe?” Georgia asked.

“It is, actually. I moved here from Scotland two years ago with my family.”

“That smells delicious, Will. Did you make that yourself?” Bella asked, turning to him.

“I did, actually. First time, too.” He smiled, proud of his work.

“I can’t wait to try it. What kind of bread is it?”

“Garlic pull-apart bread. I hope it turned out okay…”

“If it tastes even half as good as it smells, it’ll be superb.” She smiled, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. Will tensed, but didn’t move away.

“The steak is finished. Please, help yourself to anything on the table.” Hannibal announced to the group, who stood up and made their way to the table of food. They each took a paper plate and a good portion of the flank, filling the plates up as much as they could. The deviled eggs ran out quickly, much to Beverly’s liking, finding it even more humorous when she discovered that it was Brian who was eating most of them.

Hannibal and Will were the last ones to serve themselves, and they took the opportunity of being away from the group to talk.

“Abigail’s friends look nothing like her.” Will stated.

“Yes, is there anything peculiar about that?”

“Yeah. But not in a bad way. It’s just another way that she’s separating herself from her old life, creating a new one. You remember how the girls her father killed looked just like her?”

“I remember. Very observational of you, Will. I hadn’t caught that. It makes sense. Having friends that don’t look like her put her in the mindset that she won’t have to aid in killing them. I wonder if she is doing it consciously or unconsciously.”

“Probably both. Just stored in the back of her mind and her subconscious is making her do it.”

“I’m glad for it. They seem like nice girls, and I hope we won’t have to… Have them for supper sometime.”

Will scoffed and elbowed his husband in the ribs.

**oOo**

“So, Abigail. Are you thinking about college for next year? I haven’t heard anything on the topic from Will or Hannibal.” Alana asked Abigail.

Abigail shook her head and swallowed the food that was in her mouth. “I’m going to take a year off. I’m not ready for college life just yet. I haven’t had time to really think about my future.”

“Maybe you could go into criminal justice or help out Beverly in the lab.” She took a sip of her wine.

“I’ve considered that, actually. I think what you all do is really interesting, and we all know that I don’t get freaked out when I see a dead body.” She laughed nervously. “But I want to work for the FBI.”

Alana chuckled. “Maybe you will. Or you could follow in my footsteps and become a psychiatrist.”

Abigail smiled, “Maybe I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated.


	4. Girl's Night Slumber Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, here's the next chapter. I had no motivation to write it these past few months, but now that Hannibal is coming back, I'm going in a downward spiral of insanity.
> 
> I should point out that yes, Abigail is upset that her father was a cannibal and furnished their house with the bodies of his victims. For argument’s sake, she’s okay with the fact that Hannibal is a cannibal and that the three of them eat people, because Hannibal only kills and eats the rude. Just don’t think about it too much and you’ll be fine.
> 
> Here's what the fort is essentially supposed to look like: https://31.media.tumblr.com/88b847b2f7ca9d1f5dff63f964896978/tumblr_inline_mqf1zwc2dr1qz4rgp.jpg

At four fifteen in the afternoon, the school bus came to a stop at its usual corner. As the students who got off at that stop stood up and swung on their backpacks, Abigail pushed her way off of the school bus and nearly fell out of it as she stepped out. She couldn’t see where she was going; tears had filled her eyes and made her vision blurry. She pressed her hands hard against her ears, desperately trying to block out the comments that the occupants of the bus were spewing at her. Sobbing, she ran home as fast as she possibly could, her backpack, thrown over one shoulder in a rush, bumping against her back each time her feet hit the ground. She reached the front door to her house and tore off her backpack, fumbling around in the pockets for her keys. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes to get a better look. She grabbed them and immediately dropped them, her hands shaking. She bent down to pick them up, causing her backpack to unzip and fall from her shoulder and drop onto the ground, littering the immediate surrounding area with papers, pencils, and textbooks. She began to sob even harder and curled up into a ball, leaning her head a bit too quickly on the door, hitting it. She didn’t care. It didn’t hurt her.

Across the street, a group of people from her school spewed profanity at her and she pressed her hands against her ears again, shaking her head, willing them to go away. She didn’t know that she was repeatedly screaming “No!” and “Stop!” at the top of her lungs until she fell back as the front door opened, her fathers wearing concerned, angry, and confused faces. Will caught her just before she hit the floor, catching her in his arms.

When Hannibal learned what was happening, his look turned murderous. His hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched. Causing a scene and confronting the offending party at that moment would be a very bad idea. Instead, he committed their faces to memory for another time.

“Abby, Abby!” Will pulled her inside and onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

Abigail only sobbed harder and clinged to the front of Will’s shirt as if it were her lifeline.

Will rocked her slowly and stroked her head. He let her cry her eyes out in peace, knowing that he wouldn’t get anything out of her until she had calmed down. He whispered soothing words to her, telling her that he was there and that she was going to be alright.

Hannibal turned his attention to the school supplies that were strewn about the front porch. He quietly and efficiently gathered them up and set them down just inside the door. He went into the kitchen and returned a moment later with a box of tissues.

The men shared a look and Hannibal sat down next to them and pulled a tissue out of the box. Gently, so as not to startle Abigail, he told her that he was going to move the hair out of her face and not to be frightened. He slowly raised his hand to her face and told her that he was going to do it then. He didn’t know how upset she was and how she would react if he touched her, although she wasn’t minding being wrapped in Will’s arms.

He moved the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear and wiped away the tears with the tissue. Tossing it to the side, he took another tissue from the box and wiped away what was dripping out of Abigail’s nose.

Will motioned to Hannibal that they should take her into the living room. Hannibal nodded.

“Abigail, we’re going to move into the living room now. Do you want to walk, or should I carry you?” Hannibal asked softly. She opened her eyes and stretched her arms out to him, tears still a steady stream down her face, indicating that she preferred the latter. He kneeled down in front of the two and Will handed her off to him as best he could; she was bigger than a child and weighted more, but he managed. He carried her bridal style and Will followed them into the living room, bringing the box of tissues with him. Will couldn’t even begin to guess what caused her to become this upset, but he had an inkling.

Hannibal walked over to the couch and sat down, Abigail in his lap. She was still shaking, but not as badly as before. Will sat down beside him just as Abigail went into another fit of hysterical sobbing. Hannibal rubbed her back and Will wiped away her tears as needed.

Abigail’s eyes were as pink as the rest of her face. Her eye makeup was smudged and runny and her tears had left trails down her cheeks, cleaning away little paths of her makeup. Her hair was a tangled mess, and was that remnants of food stuck in it?

“I’m going to take off your shoes, Abby. Is that alright?” Will asked her.

Abigail looked over at him and nodded.

Will unlaced her boots and pulled them off carefully. He set them down on the floor on his other side.

She began to calm down after about five minutes, and she adjusted her feet so they were resting on Will’s thigh. She sniffed, cleared her throat, and wiped at her eyes. She wasn’t finished crying, but she knew that her dads wanted to know what was upsetting her.

“Feeling better?” Hannibal asked her. She shrugged and nodded slightly. “Are you ready to tell us?” She nodded again.

Abigail took a few deep breaths before telling them. “People figured out who I am.”

“What do you mean?” Will asked.

Her voice cracked. “Someone at my school heard about what happened in Minnesota. And they told people and now the entire school knows.” Tears welled up in her eyes again. “They threw food at me during lunch today.” The tears fell from her eyes again and the crying overcame her once more.

“Oh, my sweet girl…” Hannibal held her closer to his chest.

“And – and they threw… threw clumps of dirt at me and – and told me that I was g-going to hell and that I’m the scum of the earth but I didn’t _know_! I didn’t _know_ that my dad was feeding me people and that our pillows were filled with their hair!” she practically screamed. “It’s not my _fault_!” she began shaking again, the tears falling just as hard as they had before. She kicked her feet, hitting Will’s thigh with her heels. She was hurting him, yes, but she needed to get it all out. “They say that I’m a monster.”

Hannibal and Will had decided to send Abigail to a small private school in the area with less than two hundred students, not expecting anyone there to know of her past. They knew that it was inevitable that someone should find out and bring it to light, and now it was happening. The only remaining solution would be to homeschool her.

Hannibal was appalled. “No.” Hannibal kissed the top of her head. “I know what monsters are. You’re a victim.” He began to rock her gently, just as Will had before. “Will and I, we’re going to protect you.”

Will nodded. “What about Nithya and Chloe? Did they do this to you, too?” Will asked, handing her a tissue to wipe her face.

Abigail shook her head. “I d-don’t know. I didn’t see them at – at all after it h-h-happened.” She hiccupped. Her breathing was becoming short and quick, on the verge of hyperventilating, and Hannibal had to have her calm it down before she fainted.

“Abby, I need you to listen to me for a moment. It’s okay for you to cry, but I need you to focus on slowing down your breathing. I need you to take deep breaths. Can you do that?”

Abigail nodded and tried to slow her breathing. At first she would let out a sob each time she exhaled, but she managed to get it under control.

“Good, thank you. Is there anything else you want to tell us?”

“I’d like to know why you didn’t call us during school.”

She cleared her throat. “I thought I c-could handle it. It was a few of the druggie guys a-and I didn’t think anyone would believe them but they printed out articles and- and they posted them all over the school and now everybody knows!” she groaned and buried her face in Hannibal’s chest. “And I had a test in my last class today and I needed to stay at school to take it and I tried to ignore them and my teacher let me take my test in an empty classroom to get away from everyone but I _know_ I failed it and I didn’t want to bother you and I thought I could handle it but I couldn’t and oh I’m so _sorry._ I know I should’ve called you right when it happened but I just – I just –”

“Abby, Abby. It’s alright.” Will reassured her. “We’re not angry with you. If anything, we’re angry with the morons that caused this.”

“That’s right, Abigail. We both love you very much, and we are not happy with them in the least. You did a brave thing, and I’m very proud of you.”

Abigail gave him a weak smile. “Thanks, daddy.” She sniffed. Her crying had finished.

“You’re a good girl, Abby.” Will told her.

Abigail smiled at him and held out her hand for Will to give her another tissue. She wiped the last of the tears from her face and blew her nose. She sighed. “I guess this means I’m going to be homeschooled now, right?”

Hannibal smiled, relieved that she was beginning to feel herself once more. “That would be the wisest decision. Is that alright with you?”

She nodded. “I guess. I figured it would happen eventually…” she sighed.

The family sat there on the couch in comfortable silence. Abigail nodded off for a few minutes, exhausted and emotionally drained.

“You know what would make you feel better?” Will asked her after she’d woken up.

“I can think of a few things. What are you thinking of?”

“A girl’s night slumber party.”

“I don’t want to see anyone from school.”

“I thought as much. But that’s why _we_ would have a girl’s night slumber party.”

Abigail looked at him skeptically. “What?”

“That might be a good idea, actually.” Hannibal added.

“I’m pretty sure that a girl’s night slumber party requires more than one girl, dad.”

“If we found some girls to join us, would you find that acceptable?” Hannibal asked.

She shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I’m all about it with just you two. But who would we ask?”

“Not anyone from school. Which means I guess we could ask Alana and Beverly.” Will suggested.

“I’m cool with Alana and Beverly.” Abigail perked up.

“Would they be comfortable with that, though?” Hannibal asked.

“Oh. Um, I’m sure they won’t mind. I mean, Alana won’t. I don’t know about Beverly.”

“Alright, then. Shall I call them now, then?”

“Yeah!” Abigail nodded profusely.

“My mobile is upstairs. You’ll have to get up if you want me to call them.” Hannibal told her.

She huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically and immediately scooted into Will’s lap, then moved to where Hannibal had been sitting once he stood up.

Hannibal walked up the stairs and into his bedroom. He took his phone off of its charger and called Alana.

_“Hey, Hannibal. What’s going on?”_

“Hello, Alana. Well, it seems that Abigail is going to be homeschooled from now on.”

_“What?! Why?”_

“The student body uncovered her past life and stuck up old news articles of it all over the school.”

_“What the hell? You’re going to talk to the principal, yes?”_

“Of course. She came home today and Will and I found her curled into a ball sobbing and screaming outside the front door. Some students had followed her and were spewing profanity at her. We just got her to calm down.”

Alana huffed. _“Oh, the poor darling. Is there anything I can do?”_

“Actually, yes. That’s why I called you. The three of us are having a girl’s night slumber party tonight and–”

 _“You’re having a_ what _? A_ girl’s night slumber party _? You and Will and Abigail? Oh my God, Hannibal. That’s hilarious.”_

“Yes, well, in my defense, it _was_ Will’s idea. But I thought it would be beneficial to get her mind off of today’s events.”

_“And you want me to join you guys?”_

“That was what we were hoping, yes. Abigail told us that a girl’s night slumber party requires more than one girl. We’re also planning on inviting Beverly.”

_“That sounds like a great idea, Hannibal. Anything for Abigail. What time should I come over?”_

“Does seven o’clock work with your schedule?”

 _“It might conflict with something. Hold on.”_ There was a brief pause and the sound of pages turning. _“I have a meeting tonight from six to seven in DC, but I’ll be back by eight. So I’ll come over at about eight-thirty. Is that alright?”_

“That sounds lovely.”

_“Great. I hope I make it back before it rains tonight. God, I haven’t been to a slumber party in years. That means I’ll be sleeping over then, yes?”_

“That’s correct.”

_“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you at eight-thirty.”_

“Good to hear it.”

The call ended and Hannibal scrolled through his contact list until he found Beverly and tapped the call button.

She answered on the first ring.

 _“Yes? Hello? Hannibal? What’s up? How ya doin’? Need something? Anything?”_ she asked almost frantically. Hannibal heard her say “ _please_ ” under her breath.                                                                   

He was surprised at her enthusiasm. “Hello, Beverly. To answer your questions, Abigail had a difficult time at school today. A group of students learned of her past and decided to inform the entire school, who in turn decided that it was a good idea to throw food at her and bully her. She came home crying, and Will and I only just got her to calm down.”

_“Oh, the poor thing. What’s going to happen now?”_

“We’re going to homeschool her. She was surprisingly okay with the idea; I figure she must have thought it over when she decided to start school here.”

_“Can I do anything for her?”_

“There is something you can do for her, yes. Will had the idea of having a girl’s night slumber party tonight. I think it would be a good idea to distract her, and it would make her feel better.”

_“But I thought the kids at school were being jackasses to her?”_

“That’s why it’s going to be the five of us. Abigail, Will, me, Alana, and you.”

_“What, really? You’re inviting me to a slumber party? At your house?”_

“That’s the idea, yes. Alana has already said that she will join us. Will you?”

 _“Yes – oh my God, please get me out of here. Zeller and Price are still staying with me and for reasons I cannot even begin to understand, they have not stopped having sex since two in the afternoon and it is_ driving me crazy _. Just tell me what time and I’ll come over.”_

Hannibal wished she hadn’t told him that bit of information. “Seven o’clock.”

 _“Can I come at six-thirty instead?”_ She was desperate to get out of her house.

“Yes, I believe that will be okay. Alana will arrive at about eight-thirty.”

_“Great. Perfect. I’ll see you then. I’m going to go out right now and buy nail polish and food and rent a bunch of DVDs. You have really hi-tech iPod speakers, right?”_

“Yes, I do.”

 _“Brilliant. I’ll see you then.”_ Beverly hung up and Hannibal plugged the charger back into his phone.

It was going to be an interesting night.

**oOo**

The doorbell rang and Abigail ran to answer it, already in her pajamas. She was sporting a pair of yellow and green plaid pants and a red shirt.

“Hey, Alana!”

“Hey, Abigail. How are you doing?”

“Trying to block it out. But other than that, I’m fine. Come on in, Beverly is already here. We were just about to start making a pillow fort.” Abigail held the door open and Alana stepped inside.

“This is already exciting.”

“So am I! You can change into your pajamas in the bathroom. And you know where to put your coat and things.”

Abigail joined  Beverly in the living room while Alana got ready.

“Alana’s here. She’s changing into her pajamas.”

Beverly had arrived wearing her pajamas. They consisted of a pair of dark grey pajama shorts with a dark blue ribbon and a matching dark blue tanktop. The sleeves of her black cardigan were pushed up to her elbows. She had brought twenty-three different colors of nail polish with her, a case of brownies, three bags of chips, five movies, and a two hour long playlist on her iPod that she had put together for that night. She had hooked up the iPod to the speakers in the living room when she arrived, and the song that was currently playing was “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” by Electric Light Orchestra.

Alana came out of the bathroom and set her overnight bag down by Beverly’s. She was wearing a pair of black pajama shorts and a faded George Mason University shirt. “Hey, Bev. I see you’ve made yourself comfortable.” She said as she sat down next to Beverly on the floor and kissed her cheek.

“I have, in fact. Thanks for noticing.” Beverly shoved another brownie in her mouth.

“So I hear we’re going to make a pillow fort?”

“That’s the plan.” Will said as he and Hannibal entered the living room, both carrying blankets and pillows.

“Who knew you had so many pillows and blankets. I’m honestly surprised.” Beverly told Hannibal.

“I change the bedding each month. It’s more sanitary and I enjoy the change of scenery.”

“It’s also because of my nightmares that cause me to sweat profusely.” Will deadpanned.

“I meant to ask you about that, Will. Are they less frequent now?” Alana asked.

“Yeah. They’re ah, they don’t happen as often as they used to. Only two or three a week.”

Alana smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Yeah.” Will said awkwardly and put the blankets down beside Abigail.

“Shall we create our fortress?” Hannibal asked the group.

“Yes! I’ve been waiting all night to make it.” Beverly piped up.

“Okay, first we need to put the frame together. So let’s move the armchairs over here…” Abigail took charge of the process. Hannibal and Abigail moved the chairs so the backs were facing each other, spaced roughly seven feet apart.

Over the course of the next fifteen minutes, sheets were pinned together and draped over dining room chairs, armchairs, and coffee tables. The group covered the floor under the fort with the various comforters, Abigail making sure that it was comfortable enough and that the television screen was still visible. They lined the inside of the fort with pillows and claimed their own spaces within the fort with their own pillows and blankets. Hannibal and Will deemed the back right corner as theirs, Abigail the middle, Alana the back left corner, and Beverly in the front left corner. Abigail took a picture of their fort when it was finished.

“Perfect.” Abigail stated.

“I think now would be a good time to start a movie. I brought,” Beverly reached into her overnight bag and pulled out five DVD cases, “Friends with Kids, The Switch, Bride Wars, Red Dawn, and Skyfall.”

“I heard that The Switch is really good. We should watch that one.” Alana said.

“What’s it about?” Abigail asked.

“A guy who’s in love with his best friend. She wants kids but isn’t married, so she finds a sperm donor and in a drunken and drugged up state, the best friend switches his sperm with the donor’s and he forgets that he did that and years later when he sees the kid after his best friend moves away to raise it and realizes that it’s his.” Alana explained.

“Who’s in it?”

“Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.”

“Oh boy, do I love Jason Bateman.” Beverly said, fanning herself.

They agreed to watch it and Hannibal put the disc in and turned the television on. He made a bowl of popcorn while it loaded. The five of them took their places in their fort.

They made comments and laughed and pointed things out during the movie, “Alana, that character Pauline looks _just_ like you” was one of the more popular ones. Hannibal was silently reacting to the emotional parts of it. Will was more vocal about it; he cried at the ending.

After the movie, Beverly suggested that they paint nails.

“Did you bring any of that crackle nail polish? I’ve never tried it.” Alana asked as Beverly pulled out a plastic bag full of nail polish.

“Yeah, I did. I got it in white, red, and black.”

“Alana, could you paint my nails for me? I suck at doing them myself.” Abigail asked.

“Of course, Abby. What color?”

Abigail sorted through the various colors and picked out a dark blue and the white crackle nail polish. “These.” She handed them to Alana.

“Oh, this is so much fun. I can’t remember the last time I did stuff like this.” Beverly clapped her hands. “It makes me feel like a teenager again.”

“Me too. This is really exciting.” Alana agreed.

Alana shook the red nail polish. “Here.” Alana patted her knee. “You can put your hand on my knee for stability.” She unscrewed the cap and began to paint Abigail’s nails.

“Hannibal, give me your hand.” Beverly commanded.

“Why?”

“I’m going to paint your nails.”

“Oh, I don’t think–”

“Oh, nonsense. Come on. It’ll be fun.”

“No.”

“Yeah, come on. It can’t hurt.” Will laughed.

“No.”

“It would make me really happy.” Abigail batted her eyelashes at him.

Hannibal closed his eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“Great!” Beverly picked up the neon pink nail polish. “Give me your hand.”

He reluctantly held his hand out and she took it, setting it on her knee. She shook the nail polish, unscrewed the cap, and began painting his nails. “I also got this cool instant-dry stuff. Just put one drop on each nail after you paint it and a few seconds later, bam, it’s completely dry.”

Abigail reached over to her phone and unlocked it. She pressed the camera app and snapped a picture of Hannibal getting his nails painted. Hannibal huffed but said nothing. If it made Abby happy, then he would do it. Even if he knew she was manipulating him.

“So, Bev.” Alana started. “Why’d you get here so early?”

Beverly laughed. “Zeller and Price are still at my place. I swear, they’re part rabbit. They’ve been in a constant state of sex since two. I don’t know what started it, but _they’re so loud._ I tried to get out of the house, but I couldn’t find anything to do. I don’t care that they’re doing it, I care that they’re so damn loud. They only took one break, and that was at four-fifteen and Zeller asked me if I wanted to ‘join in on the fun.’ I locked myself in my room after that.”

“Well I’m glad we could save you.” Abigail laughed. “I understand your pain.” She shot a look at Hannibal and Will. Beverly busted out laughing and Alana facepalmed, snickering.

“Abigail!” Hannibal scolded. Will blushed furiously.

Abigail stifled her laughter. “What? It’s true!” Abigail had never felt awkward with Hannibal and Will. Even though they were her parents now, she had become their friend first.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Beverly told them. “These two are even worse than Zeller and Price. At least Zeller and Price wait until they get _home_ to start going at it. Do you even know what these two get up to in the storage closets back at work?”

Will covered his face with his hands and curled into a ball. Hannibal kept his head down, a hint of a blush creeping up his neck.

“A word to the wise: don’t ever stop by Hannibal’s office after hours. And don’t touch the desk.” Alana added. The three women were in fits of hysterical giggles.

“No – no! H-Hannibal makes sure that it’s _clean_ after- afterwards.” Beverly said in between gasps. “Yo-you know how he is about th-things like that!”

“Keep talking, Beverly, and I’ll tell the tale of why I wasn’t surprised that Brian Zeller asked you to ‘join in on the fun.” Hannibal threatened.

Beverly gasped. “You wouldn’t _dare_.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

“ _What_?” Abigail shrieked. “You and Zeller and Price? _When_?!”

“N-Never! I never did anything with them!” Beverly’s face turned beet red, just as Will’s was.

“Oh, you sly _fox_.” Alana nudged her.

“I – I was just curious!”

“Yes, you were. Curious to see what it would be like to have intercourse in a morgue.”

“ _Hannibal_!” Beverly shouted.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” He smirked.

Beverly smacked him on the shoulder. “You absolute jerk.”

“How is it any different than what you three were just doing?”

Beverly glared at him and turned back to painting his nails.

Thunder rumbled outside. A few minutes later, Alana announced that she was finished with Abigail’s nails.

“Whoah! Look at this, dad!” Abigail leaned back and held out her hands to show Will.

“That _is_ pretty cool. Do you uh, do you like it?”

“Yeah, I’m loving it. Thanks for doing it, Alana.” Abigail leaned back up into a sitting position.

“Oh, I forgot to put on the instant drying stuff. Give me your hand again.” Abigail put her hands back on Alana’s knee. She put one small drop on each of Abigail’s nails.

Beverly took it from her when she was done and put one drop on Hannibal’s nails. “Now you’re _officially_ the fairest in all the land.”

Hannibal rolled his eyes, but he cracked a smile. “It looks good. I would say that it’s a job well done.”

Rain began to fall outside.

“Isn’t there supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight?” Beverly asked.

“Yeah, I read it this morning.” Alana answered.

“My dogs!” Will blurted out. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran to the back door, unlocking it and throwing it open. He ran outside and over to the dog houses, ignoring the cold rain.

He unhooked each of the dogs from their doghouses and ushered them inside. “Come on guys, inside. Good dogs, inside. Come on, that’s it.”

Will followed the last dog inside and closed the door behind him, locking it back up. The dogs ran right over to the fort, sniffing at and jumping on Alana and Beverly.

“Oh, uh – guys, come on, get off of Alana and Beverly. Will tried to push the dogs off of them.

“Don’t worry about it, Will. Your dogs are the best. Yes they are, yes they are!” Beverly picked up Buster and nuzzled him. Buster jumped when a loud crack of thunder sounded.

Winston obeyed Will’s command and padded over to him. He shoved his snout under Will’s hand, looking for some love and Will stroked his head. The rain was coming down harder now, and he was glad that he could get his dogs inside before it got bad.

Beverly threw a dog toy that Sebastian had brought over and he and Max ran after it. Max picked it up first and the two dogs began a game of tug-of-war. Their playfulness started a chain reaction with the other dogs, and soon everyone was playing and wrestling with a dog. Winston was sitting on Will’s chest, Will gently pulling on his ears and barking back and forth.

Hannibal joined in with them, rubbing Winston’s back and belly. Will nudged him with his hip and Hannibal grasped onto Winston’s snout and growled at him. The dog wiggled out of his grasp and barked at him, his tail wagging. Hannibal nudged the dog who, in turn, raised a paw at him and gave him a half-hearted bark. Hannibal barked right back. Hannibal then buried his face in Will’s neck, and Will _giggled_. Hannibal liked that. So he did it again and nibbled on Will’s ear. Hannibal gave a low growl and his husband shivered.

Hannibal pushed the dog off of Will and slid on top of his husband, straddling him.

“Are you an animal now, Doctor Lecter?” Will rasped.

Lightning lit up the night sky outside. “I am, William.” He growled again. “And I’m _hungry_.” With a mischievous grin, Hannibal leaned down and bit and licked his way down Will’s jawline and up the other side, earning him a few gasps from the man pinned underneath him.

Hannibal felt a foot hit his side and he toppled off of Will, landing next to him.

“See? What did I tell you? They’re the actual worst.” Beverly joked.

In response, Hannibal wrapped his arms around Will – who was blushing again – and held him tight to his chest, planted a huge kiss on his cheek, and buried his face in his neck. Despite Will’s halfhearted protests, he only held him tighter. Hannibal gave Beverly a look that said “ _Mine_.”

One hour, a pillow fight, and a bag of chips later, the group found themselves tucked up in their fort, Friends with Kids playing on the television, surrounded by dogs.

Abigail fell asleep first, curled up in a ball next to Winston. Beverly and Alana fell asleep with their heads on the same pillow, dogs tucked up all around them.

Hannibal and Will were the last ones to fall asleep, Will wrapped up in his husband’s arms.

“We’ve done well so far, Will.” Hannibal told him quietly.

“Yeah.” Will sighed. “Yeah, we have.”

And with that, they drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated. They keep me motivated to write.
> 
> Also, if anyone has any suggestions for future chapters, please feel free to let me know!


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